Robert Gibbes (January 9, 1644 – June 24, 1715) was an English

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...

of the province of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

between 1710-1712. Although he was elected acting governor by the Executive Council between the three proprietary deputies of former governor, Edward Tynte, after his death, received one vote more than his opponent Thomas Broughton, getting it through bribery. This sparked a conflict between both the oppositions and their supporters which finished with the

Lords Proprietors A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary". Origin In the beginning of the European ...

declaring the election of Gibbes illegal (although they allowed them to rule for almost a year) and the appointment of

Charles Craven Charles Craven (1682 – 27 December 1754) was the son of Sir William Craven and Margaret Clapham. He held the office of Governor of Carolina between 1711 and 1716. Biography He was secretary of the proprietors of Carolina Colony. In Februar ...

as governor of South Carolina in 1711, who didn't arrive until 1712.

Biography

Early life

Robert Gibbes was born in

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

County,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on January 9, 1644 to Robert Gibbes and Mary Coventry, both of whom were English.Genealogy.com: Robert Gibbes - RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Our investigation
Later in life, Gibbes moved to Barbados, settling in Sandarich.
Retrieved on 06 June, 2015, to 23:20 pm. Sometime before 1670, he and his brother, Thomas, attempted to find a settlement in

Cape Fear, North Carolina Cape Fear is a prominent headland jutting into the Atlantic Ocean from Bald Head Island on the coast of North Carolina in the southeastern United States. It is largely formed of barrier beaches and the silty outwash of the Cape Fear River as i ...

for the

, but their efforts failed.Robert Gibbes - Halsey Map. Preservation society of Charleston
Retrieved on June 07, 2015, to 0:21 pm. Gibbes then began to accumulate land in the

province. Gibbes was among the first settlers of

Charles Town, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, in 1670. Robert Gibbes began his political career in 1684 when he became a

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Carolina. He was an elected member of the First Commons House of

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

in 1692, representing the

Colleton County Colleton County is in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,604. Its county seat is Walterboro. The county is named after Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet, one of the eight Lords ...

. In 1698, he was appointed a Proprietor's Deputy and a member of the Grand Council, as well as Chief Justice later the same year.

Government in South Carolina

After the death of governor Edward Tynte in June 1710, Robert Gibbes was elected acting governor by the Executive Council, between the three proprietary deputies of Tynte. Gibbes won the position of governor after receiving only one vote more than his opponent,

Thomas Broughton Thomas Broughton may refer to: * Thomas Broughton (writer) (1704–1774), English divine, biographer, and miscellaneous writer * Thomas Broughton (divine) (1712–1777), English divine *Thomas Duer Broughton (1778–1835), English writer on ...

, which was achieved through bribery. Both Broughton and Gibbes claimed their personal rights to rule the

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, with a majority of the people supporting Gibbes. In one incident, Broughton took gunmen and a group of slaves from his plantation and went to Charles Town in order to assert his right to access the government council. After running a short parliament, the party of Broughton demanded admission. Gibbes was interested in why Broughton came with a number of gunmen if he recognized himself as governor. Broughton responded that they had come to the city because they were aware of the concerns in the province that indicated the likelihood of a negative event and the fact that the inhabitants did not favor Gibbes to rule the province. Gibbes was subsequently refused entry to the city to Broughton. As a consequence, many of the men of Broughton galloped around the walls of the city. These included many sailors that favored Broughton, who gathered on ships in the local port with the intention of destroying the drawbridge. Gibbes's and his followers opposed them, but were forbidden from shooting them. As a consequence, there was an armed confrontation between the two candidates for the city government and the men who supported them in militias. There were wounded men on both sides. They lowered the drawbridge, entered, and exercised the guard house on Broad Street. Some of the sailors of Broughton were captured. Some militia fired their weapons, despite their leaders not having given firing orders. Despite this, no one was injured. Broughton proceeded with his march for a short while longer. Broughton then proclaimed as governor, followed by a series of cheers. They approached the door of the city fortress and forced their entry. Many

knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

were then presented to the door and tried to prevent them from entreating, resulting in a retreat to the bay. After much altercation and several discussions between both parties, the

decided not to support any of them, nor Gibbes or Broughton, although the former acted as governor in meantime.

was soon appointed to take the place of Robert Gibbes in 1711. Lords Proprietors declared that the election of Gibbes was illegal because it was established through bribery. However, they allowed Gibbes to rule for almost a year. During the government of Robert Gibbes in South Carolina, the

Tuscarora War The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711 until February 11, 1715 between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamassee, and other allies on the other. This was cons ...

began in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Gibbes sent

Colonels Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

James Moore and

John Barnwell John Barnwell (born 24 December 1938) is an English former football player and manager. He was the chief executive of the League Managers Association. Career Arsenal Born in Newcastle, Barnwell first played as an amateur for Whitley Bay and B ...

to help in the Albemarle region. Many of the local Native Americans abandoned the area shortly after the war began, taking all

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

captive, except for one girl who was sold into slavery in the province of South Carolina. As a result, Colonel John Barnwell received rapid success throughout the wartime period. Barnwell wrote to the acting governor Robert Gibbes in Charles Town that they had won the war and now had many provisions at their disposal, including fruit trees. Gibbes ruled South Carolina until March 19, 1712. He was replaced upon the arrival to the province of the new governor (elected in 1711),

. Gibbes died on June 24, 1715, in South Carolina.

Personal life

Gibbes married three times, the first two in Barbados. His first marriage was with Jane Davis (on October 24, 1678), with whom he had two children, namely Mary and Robert Gibbes. The second was with Mary Davis (on January 12, 1688), with whom he had three children: William, Elizabeth and John Gibbes. His third and final marriage was with Elizabeth Rixam (in 1710, in South Carolina).

References

External links

A South Carolina Genealogy:Information about Robert Gibbes

Full text of "Robert Gibbes, Governor of South Carolina, and Some of His Descendants"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbes, Robert Colonial governors of South Carolina 1644 births 1715 deaths English emigrants